Dirigible airship



oct. s, 1929. w, H, BANKS 1,730,910

DIRIGIBLE AIRSHIP Filedv March 29, 1927 4 sheets-sheet, 2

Oct. 8, 1929.

mmm Z w. H. BANKS IRIGIBLE 'AIRSHIP led March 29,l 1927 4 sheets-sheet 5Oct- 8, 1929. Y w. H. BANKS 1,730,910

DIRIGIBLE AIRSHIP Filed March 29. 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 d Eig. 10. j,

Patented Oct. 8, 1929 UNITED STATES WILLIAM H. BANKS, OF WINTHROP,MASSACHUSETTS DIRIGIBLE AIRSHIP Application filed March 29, 1927. SerialNo. 179,366.

This invent-ion relates to a new and useful improvement in ships. ItV ismore especially intended for application to dirigible aii'ships but isnot limited t airships in its broader aspects. v

It is well known that the conventional form of dirigible balloon orairsliip is unwieldy and in its travel Athrough the air presents such alarge surface area to the air resistance that great power is required toovercome the said resistance. It is also well known that with theconventional form of construction and poise of dirigibles a very rigidand strong construction is necessary to withstand the unequal strainsexerted by adverse air currents and by gravity and that the greatrweight resulting from such construction requires abnormal ineans formaking it buoyant. One object of the present invention is to reduce theair resistance and to equalize the air pressure on the sides. f

Another object of the ypresent invention is to produce a ship ofrelatively light weight and large capacity. Another objectis to soconstruct the ship as to present a relatively small portion of thesurface area to adverse vertical air currents, and to concentrate theweight so that gravitation will exert its downward force in a directline with the uplifting power or the buoyancy thereby reducing kto theminimum unequal strains from ad- .tion of one of the cylinder sectionsshown verse currents and from gravitation. Another object is toconstruct the dirigible of n. such form as to lessen the extent to whichrain, snow, fog or mist will collect on the surface of the ship, andwhich add-greatly to the weight which has to be overcome.

Another object is to reduce the rudder resistance to sudden changing ofthe course. It is well known that the conventional dii'igible beingsubject to unequal pressure sometimes ydoes not respond to its rudderpressure and deviates from its set course to a considerable degree,taking on a pitching and swaying motion thereby causing a strain anddissipating its power. One object of the present invention is to providemeans consisting of worm directional-propellers to stabilize thedirectional course of the dirigible. Another object is to soconstructtheship and regulate shown in Fig. l.

its poise as to make landing easy and to render it less liable to injurywhen it is at rest on the land or made fast to a mooring.

The invention will be fully understood from the following descriptionwhen taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the novelfeatures thereof will be pointed out an d clearly defined in the claimsat the close of this specification.

In the drawings:

l is a side elevation of an airship embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the airsliip Fig. 3 is a section on line 33 of Fig. Q.

Fig. l is a plan section on line 4 4 of Figi.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail view of the inner periphery of one of therevolving cylinder sections.

` Fig. 6 is a section on line 6 6 of Fig 5. Fig. 7 is a section on line7 7 of Fig. l. Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view on line the cylindersand one of the buckets and' the chain take up for the brake.

Fig. l0 is an enlarged vertical section ou line l0 10 of Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a detail view showing a modificain Fig.8.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown the hull or frame of theairsliip which should be made as light as possible consistent withstrength.v Preferably it has hollow beams of sheet metal. The frame isprefersoniewhat diamond shape in plan view as shown in Fig. Il, thusbeing syi'nmetrical Aand pointed both endwise anddlaterally. As

viewed in Figs. l and t the right hand end is the bow of the ship.

In order to present as little resistance as possible to the air pressureboth in its forward travel and in its elevation and to t'ne `pressureofthe vertical air currents, the

and on the top. .There are shown at 2O the inclined beams of the hullantL the struts 2l all made hollow and having wedge like edges 22 forthe purpose previously described. The under faces are preferably plane.

There is provided a rudder 2l controlling the elevation and a. ru der 25for steering the course of the ship. rllhere are pro Tided two oppositeside propellers 26, 26 and a rear propeller 27 driven by motors 2S orother suitable power mechar'sin thr igh suitable connections for theforward drive of the ship and there are forward and aft elevationalpropellers Q9, Q9 driven by motors 30.

One of the main features of the invention consists in the verticalrotary cylinder B which operates somewhat after the so called Magnuseffect, but is of different 'construction from anything heretofore knownfor equalizing the pressure on both sides of the cylinder as will behereinafter described. rihere may be employed one or more suchcjfflinders as desired, for instance one forward and one aft. ln theconstruction shown in thev drawings only one cylinder is employedJ thisbeing located anl idships. The word cylinder is intended herein toinclude the entire combination cylinder from top to bottom but iscomposed of several sections rotatable independenti-y of each other awill be hereinafter described.

A vertical mast C is fixedly mounted in the ship rising from and restingupon the bottom portion 3l of the frame.y

The mast is stepped in a socket 19 and extends vertically upward throughthe cylinder B,- axially thereof. rlhe mast is preferably made ofInet-al and of skeleton forni so as to give it strength and rigiditywith a minimum of weight.

The drck is of skeleton or grid form comprising the hollowbeams 32forming the four side rails of the diamond shape frame and thehorizontal brace members which extend centrally inward toward the mastfrom the apiccs of the four corners of theV diamond shaped frame7 saidmembers 33 being connected at their inner ends with an annular memberSil from which they radiate. rlhe side frame members 32, annular member34 and connecting brace members constitute a sort of deck. At the endsand two sides the inclined learns 'Q2 extend from the bottom 3l to theapices of the main deck and help support the said deck.

The cylinder B extends upward through the said annular central memberSe, and is thereby partiallyv supported against swaying. The cylinder isfurther steadied by guy wires or cables 35.

The cylinder B comprises' a plurality of tubular sections or shellsr oneabove the other independently rotatable on their axes. The alternatesections are rotatable in opposite directions, one set of said sectionsrotating in for use in a clockwise direction and the other set rotatingin a counterclockwise direction for the purpose of maintaining the poiseas will be hereinafter described. There should be an equal number ofoppositely rotating members. The said sections are therefore inmultiples of two and may be as many in num ber as desired according tothe height of the entire cylinder or stack and the desired length of thecylinder sections. As shown in the drawings there are four of suchsections B1, B2, B3, B4.

Each cylinder section is supported at its lower and upper ends by amember 36 secured to the mast and extending laterally outward therefromto provide end seats on which the cylinder section rotates.Anti-friction bearings are provided at cach end of each section.

To provide for the anti-friction bearings the seat members 36 are formedwith annular grooves or raceways 37 cooperating with annular grooves orraceways 38 in the ends of the cylinder sections to receive balls 39spaced apart from each other by spacing members LlO in well knownmanner. The cylinder sections are each free to rotate or spin on theiraxes independently of each other.

The bottom supporting members for the upper pair of cylinder sections B4and B3.

are of spider form having a hub All made fast to the mast and connectedby spokes or ribs l2 with the annular rim member 3G which constitutesthe scat and in which the raceways 37 are formed. i

The supporting` member 48 for the lower end of the cylinder section B2which is the lirst of the cylinder sections above the deck frame members33 preferably entends across the lowerrend of said cylinder section B2instead of being of skeleton or grid form lik those for the two uppercylinder sections B3 and Bt; It has a lateral flange extension providedwith a raceway of the form shown in Fig. lO already described. Avertical tubular member le extends down from said support 43' and restson the floor 3l of the ship. This tubular shell portion la is shown asprovided with horizontal partitions for dividing it into compartments45, d6 to be utilized for storage or any other purpose desired. @ne ofthese partitions il? has a lateral flange extension below the deckhaving a raccway for cooperating with the raceway on the upper end ofthelowermost cylinder section El and the bottom member 3l has a raceway forthe lower end of said section B1 for the reception of ball bearings asalready described with relation to the two upper cylinder sections.

rl cylinder D to contain the gas bags is enclosed within the. rotatablecylinder sections but is separate therefrom. Preferably it is made ofmeshwork. Vertical stilfening rods t8 and annular spider members el)tolll) rried around by the rotating cylinder members. The scoops orbuckets on alternate cylinder sections have their mouths open inopposite directions, that is, the buckets carried by the sections B2 andB'L have their mouths facing in the opposite direction from thosecarried by the cylinder sections B1 and B3. The purpose of this is tocause the alternate sections to rotate in opposite directions, one setrotatingT clockwise and the other set rotating countercloclnvise. It iswell yunderstood that as the ship moves through the air the currents ofair will he split, a part going` on one side and apart going on theother side of the cylinder.v l-rccording to the well knownMagnus'effect, there is less friction or resistance on the side th at ismoving with the airl than on the opposite side which rotates against theair pressure. If all yof the cylinder sections rotate in the samedirection. the pressure will be greater on'one entire side of thecylinder' than ony the other side and tends to tip the cylinder into aninclined position. 'The purpose of having the alternate cylinders equalin number and rotate in opposite directions is to equalize the pressureand thus prevent tippin By making the outer cylinder B in sections inveritical and axial alinement with each other and having the buckets onalternate sections thereof face in opposite directions as hereinbeforedescribed so that some cylinder sections of each stack rotate in onedirection and at the same time other sections of the same stack rotatein the reverse direction. the cylinder is thereby stabilized.

By making the alternate cylinder sections to rotate in oppositedirections to each other the air pressures at right angles to thedirection of flight are equalized and equilibrium maintained.

It is important that the center of gravity be kept very low.

Brakes are provided which may be operated to retard the speed ofrotation of either or both sets of cylinder sections independently ofeach other in order to still more accurately govern the pressure.

A brake band 52 encircles the upper cylinder section B, the ends of thebrake band being connected with sprocket chains 53 which are connectedat one end to a sprocket next lower cylinder section B3 and is operatedby a brake rod 59 having a handy wheel 60. The brake rod 59 is tubularand the brake rod passes loosely through said tubular rod 59. Guides y6lfor the brake band are provided to keep it from sagging at the sidesintermediate the connections with the brake rod and with the links 57.

Theinner face or envelope of each of the rotary cylinder sections ispreferably formed with cells 62 as shown in Figs. 5 and 6 to increasethe strength without unduly increasing the weight.

The conventional Idirigible being subject to unequal pre sure is therebyat times caused to disregard its rudder pressure and to deviate from itsset course to a considerable degree and from that cause to take on apitching and swaying motion, thereby straining itself and dissipatingits power. In order to obviate this trouble I provide directional wormsor screws which are given a revolving or spinning motion by the airpressineduring the forced passage of the dirigible through the air inflight, augmented by power from the power plant or motor of the ship togive it a gr1p,'as it were, on the air, the power from the motor beingreleasable at will to make it easier rto change the course of the ship.

In carrying out this idea there are provided, as shown in the drawings,two worm propellers 64, 64 located above the deck on opposite sides ofthe cylinder and parallel with each other and with the horizontal axisof the ship. These worms are each mounted upon a shaft 65 `havingdriving connection with a motor 66. yThe worms are rotated by the airpressure augmented by the ships power as the ship is in flight. Themotors may be controlled sofas to shut olf both or either oneindependently as may be needed to compensate for any unequal pressure ofthe air on opposite sides of the ship.

A cap G7 is provided to cover the top of the cylinder, has a flangeextension which overhangsL the outer periphery to prevent the whirlingair currents around the cylinder from escaping at the top, the escape ofwhich would diminish the effect of the rotating cylinder, and the capalso prevents the air above the cylinder from being drawn down by thesuction which would further tend to deflect the whirling currents anddiminish their effect. In the modification shown in Fig. l1 theanti-friction bearings for the cylinder sections are located immediatelyadjacentthe illt) mast and near the axis of the cylinder instead of atthe outer periphery of the cylinder. In this construction, hubs aresecured to the inner ends of the arms 7l of the cylinder sections andhave raceways therein which cooperate with raceways formed in blocks 72made fast to the mast to hold the balls. The hubs 70 are loose on acylindrical sleeve 73 vmade fast to the mast and are rotatable on saidsleeve. ln this form of construction there is no need of the meshworkcylinder D. The gas bags may be held directly in the cylinder sectionsand be carried around therewith. A sleeve -l is provided attached to thehubs 70 to keep the gas bags from rubbing against the mast. Thepreferred method, iowever, is to have bearings at the rim as previouslydescribed.

The pressure of the air on the rotating cylinder causes the wall of thecylinder to assume a slight concave surface thereby more thorou'ghlyresulting in the Magnus elect by regarding the escape of revolving aircurrent.

lllhile the invention has been especially described as embodied in anair ship, some of its more important features, especially the rotarycylinders, are adapted for embodiment in sea going ships. lt istherefore intended that the claims so faras they relate to featureswhich are applicable to the construction of ships which operate on thewater as well as to air ships, shall cover both kinds of ships.

The invention may be embodied in cylinders employed in connection withany other structure in which the cylinder is exposed to greatairpressure on its sides, for instance vertical stationary cylinders whichare exposed to high winds, and it is my intention that the claims shallcover broadly a sectional cylinder embodying the invention, whatever theparticular location or use of the cylinder.

llhat l claim is:

l. A dirigible airship having power means kfor positively driving theship in a forward direction through the air, a cylinder mounted in avertical position on said ship, gas containers within said cylindercontaining lighter than air gas, said cylinder being rotatable on itsvertical axis and a plurality of buckets projecting laterally from saidcylinder adapted to receive the air resisting pressure against theirfront faces whereby said cylinder will be rotated on its axis counter tothe forward movement of the ship and reduce the' resistance of thecylinder to the pressure of the air as the yvessel is propelled throughthe air by its motor.

2. A dirigible airship having power mechanism for positively driving theship through the air in a forward direction, a cylinder consisting of aplurality of tubular shells in axial alinement with each other andmounted in Vertical posit-ion on said ship, gas containers in saidshells containing lighter than air gas,

each of said shells being rotatable on its axis independently of therotation of certain other of said shells, each shell having bladesprojecting laterally therefrom to receive the resisting air pressureagainst the front face of the blade and thereby rotate the shell on itsaxis counter to the forward movement of the ship while the ship is beingpropelled forward by said motor, the blades on one or more of thecylinder sections being sov disposed with relation to the' bladesy oncertain other sections that one or more of said sections will be causedto rotate in the opposite direction to the rotation of certain other ofsaid cylinder sections at the same time.

3. A dirigible airship having power mechanism for positively driving theship, a cylinder consisting of a plurality of tubular shells in axialaline'ment with each other and mounted in a vertical position on saidship, gas containers within said cylinder containing lighter than airgas, each of said shells being rotatable on its axis independently ofcertain other of said shells, each shell having mechanism adapted to beactuated by the resisting air pressure whereby the shell is rotated onits axis during the forward movement of the ship while the ship is beingpropelled by the power mechanism, the said mechanisms which are actuatedby the air pressure to rotate the shells during the movement of the shipbeing so constructed and arranged on the different shells that some ofsaid shells will be caused to rotate in the opposite direction tocertain other of said shells and simultaneously therewith. Y

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

WILLIAM H. Bi-inns.

